Actor Anushka Sharma was spotted at a look-test at a Goregaon film studio over the weekend

Indian CEO in UK scandal
A major scandal has erupted in UK’s hallowed business circles, after two ‘Financial Times’ reporters went undercover as waitresses to a rather well-known and wellattended annual charity fundraiser. The Presidents Club Charity Dinner is a secretive 33-yearold men’s only dinner in London’s Dorchester Hotel that raises funds for several noble charities by auctioning a lunch with British foreign secretary Boris Johnson and afternoon tea with Bank of England’s governor Mark Carney. The dinner on January 18 had specially hired waitresses who were told to wear skimpy black outfits with matching underwear and shoes, according to the FT report, and were subject to groping, propositioning and flashing.

Among the guests who were listed in the evening’s seating plan were Martin Sorrell of WPP (he did not attend this year but has in the past), Richard Caring, Philip Green of Arcadia, Dragons’ Den star Peter Jones, bankers Henry Gabay, Makram Azar (head of Barclay’s Middle East), politicians Nadhim Zahawi and Lord Mendelsohn of the Labour Party (he has since been sacked). ‘The Guardian’ newspaper then published a list of names who were assigned tables on the night of January 18. Prominent among these is UPL’s global CEO Jaidev Shroff. Shroff’s personal profile has taken a major shellacking in the past few years, thanks to a very public and ugly matrimonial battle with his wife Poonam Bhagat Shroff. While he has alleged she tried to murder him, she has claimed abuse and that she was forced to leave her matrimonial home after the police came to arrest her. Shroff has also been spotted in the company of Ukrainian starlet Natalia Kapchuk, said to be reason of his personal catastrophe.

Derby glamour intact
Shortly after getting hooked on to horseracing in the early 1980s, Vijay Mallya sponsored the Indian Derby in 1985 for the first time and gave the event a glamorous makeover. Mallya’s marketing team not only created brand equity for his company but also brought some real glitz to the Mahalaxmi Racecourse on the first Sunday of every February, when the Indian Derby is traditionally run. However, the Indian Derby almost became a legacy left behind by Mallya as his brewery decided to snap ties with horse-racing at the Royal Western India Turf Club last year, mostly thanks to his financial and legal turmoil. The marquee event was without a sponsor till a few weeks back, a nightmare for the RWITC as there was no corporate sponsor who could match it in prestige. The RWITC’s marketing team, however, did not give up on United Breweries and held protracted negotiations with their top brass. They finally convinced them earlier this month to continue their backing for the Indian Derby. The RWITC is working relentlessly these days to keep Mumbai’s rich and famous interested in this classic event. In an innovative step, the Turf club will be holding the last two races on the Derby weekend under the lights.

What’s in a surname?
For those of us who stayed in Mumbai over the long Republic Day weekend, actor Rajkummar Rao provided ample entertainment. No, your diarist didn’t catch his sparkling ‘Newton’ belatedly. Rather it was a tweet from Rao that had his followers, us included, in such mirth. Rao, perhaps in a bid to seem inclusive, posted: “What if there were no surnames in the world…” His questions tickled the humerus in his fans. Comedian Sorabh Pant replied, “Then I wouldn’t be able to wear mine.” While one fan stated that everyone would ask ‘Narendra who’, another one chuckled at the thought of people going to watch a Sunny Leone film but ending up at a Sunny Deol’s instead. The best was by Junior Bachchan who said, “Oh no, that’s all I got dude”, in delightful selfdeprecation. Shucks, we soon discovered it was a parody account.

Tailpiece
Our friends were delighted to discover a little bit of heaven in a boutique resort in sunny Goa. Even though the airfares may have been intimidating of the long weekend, the resort’s sprawling villas were at a very comfortable price. Soon enough, they realised their neighbouring villa had a leading film distributor and his pretty wife. Our friends were shocked to see the couple haggle with the front desk over the measly room tariff. While one may argue that people get rich by spending less money, we can comfortably say that Bollywood loves a freebie more than anyone else.

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